Hogwarts in the shadows

Hephis glanced at everyone.

"Give you time to think about it."

"On January 1st of next year, I will accept followers. I hope I can see you beside the throne."

He gave everyone some time to think, then turned around and walked back to the dormitory.

Night falls quietly and the Halloween dinner is about to begin.

Hephis had just walked into the auditorium, and the long table was full of people.

The decoration of the auditorium this year is not as fancy as in previous years.

At least there weren't a thousand Snapes flying around this time.

There were just thousands of candles swaying in the air, lighting up the main hall.

The Goblet of Fire was currently standing on a dais in front of the staff table.

The entire auditorium was occupied by everyone except Hephis who was calmly enjoying his dinner.

The other little wizards seemed to have no interest in the sumptuous dishes in front of them.

Their minds had already wandered, and they kept stealing glances at the teachers' seats, eager for Dumbledore to reveal the answer as soon as possible.

As all the golden plates disappeared, the dinner officially came to an end.

Dumbledore slowly stood up, "The Goblet of Fire will soon reveal its choice. Please be patient."

He pointed to the door behind the staff desk.

"Selected warriors, please go to the back room after the list is announced. We will provide you with initial guidance there."

Then he waved his wand lightly, and all the candles were extinguished except for the one in the pumpkin lantern which was still flickering.

The auditorium also fell into a state of overlapping light and darkness.

At this moment, the blue-white flame in the Goblet of Fire also began to burn violently, emitting dazzling light.

The whole audience was silent, waiting for that moment to come.

Suddenly the flame in the Goblet of Fire turned a blazing red and sparks flew everywhere.

Then, a tongue of fire shot up into the air and a roll of charred parchment flew out of the fire.

Everyone in the auditorium held their breath.

The parchment fell steadily into Dumbledore's palm.

"Durmstrang's Champion - Viktor Krum!"

Applause and cheers instantly filled the auditorium.

Krum stood up from the Slytherin table with a serious expression, walked slowly along the staff table, and entered the next room through that door.

"Great, Viktor!" Karkaroff shouted, "I knew you were destined to be the champion!"

After a few seconds, the flame turned red again.

A second piece of parchment flew into the air.

"Champion of Beauxbatons - Fleur Delacour!"

Applause and cheers rang out again in the auditorium.

Fleur Delacour also hurried into the room.

The atmosphere in the auditorium became increasingly solemn.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the Goblet of Fire, because it was Hogwarts' turn next.

At this time, the flame jumped more violently and turned red again.

Dumbledore pulled out a third piece of parchment from the flames.

Everyone held their breath, staring at the parchment in Dumbledore's hand without blinking, as if they could see the name.

"The champion of Hogwarts," Dumbledore's eyes went straight to Hephis, "Hephis Dumm!"

The auditorium erupted in deafening cheers and applause.

The little Slytherin snakes were even more excited. They all stood up and gave their warmest applause.

Hephis also stood up and walked towards the staff seats.

At this moment, Snape's face also showed a brilliant smile, which Hephesus had only seen in the hazy fantasy.

Hephis approached the faculty seats, bowed slightly to all the professors, and then walked into the next room.

The room was not big, and the walls on both sides were covered with portraits of wizards.

Krum and Fleur sat by the fire, both of them nervously staring at the door of the room, wondering if that person would be the next to come in.

When Hephis pushed the door open and entered, Fleur greeted Hephis with a smile.

"I knew it would be you."

Krum's expression became even gloomier.

He saw with his own eyes how Hephesus threw the parchment into the Goblet of Fire.

At that time, Hefeth's performance was simply unmatched.

Although Karkaroff kept telling him that it was just a show by Dumbledore and Hephesus to push Hephesus to participate in the competition.

But he is not stupid. That dazzling sword move cannot be explained by a show.

Hephis's mouth curled up into a smile, "Why? It's me, shouldn't you be sad?"

Furong was stunned by his words and her brows furrowed slightly.

As if asking: What does it mean?

"After all," Hephis said in a teasing tone, "with my joining, you will miss out on the Goblet of Fire."

"Hmph, do you think that being strong is enough? If you want to win the championship, you need... you need... wisdom." Furong said unconvinced.

Hephis shook his head in amusement. It took so long to come up with a reason.

Just this wisdom?

At this moment, the door of the room was pushed open again, and Harry walked in a daze.

Hephis looked at him, and his thoughts were instantly brought back to the scene in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 4".

As far as he could remember, Harry had participated in the Triwizard Tournament and even stalked a dragon.

However, Harry would definitely not be able to pass the age limit set by Dumbledore.

So it seems someone is messing around.

Fleur's eyes passed over Hephis's shoulder and fell on Harry.

"What's the matter? Is there something you want to inform us about?"

Harry still seemed a little dazed, and had no idea how to answer this sudden question.

Just as Hephis was about to speak, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the room.

The door was pushed open with a bang and then bounced back shut.

Bagman burst into the room and grabbed Harry's arm. "This is incredible!"

He faced Hephis and the other two, "Although it may be unbelievable, please allow me to introduce Harry Potter, the fourth champion of the Triwizard Tournament!"

Hephis was very calm, after all, he had just thought of it.

Krum stood up and stared at Harry like a hawk.

The corners of his mouth on his gloomy face curled up unnaturally, but quickly retracted.

Fleur shook her cascading silver hair. "Mr. Bagman, that joke is not very funny."

"A joke?" Bagman repeated. "It couldn't be a joke. Harry's name, fresh from the Goblet of Fire..."

Before he could finish, the door behind him was roughly pushed open again.

Dumbledore, Percy, Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, Snape, and Professor McGonagall poured in.

"Madame Maxime!" Fleur hurried over to her headmistress, "They said this little boy is going to compete, too!"

Harry immediately felt a little indignant: Little boy? Hephis is in the same grade as me, okay? Why don't you say he is a little boy?

Madame Maxime had originally been extremely resentful of Hephesus's participation.

And this kind of thing actually happened.

She asked directly and arrogantly, "Dumbledore, what does this mean?"